The already-sharp Mascenic Vikings and improving Wilton-Lyndeborough Warriors clashed on the field Friday afternoon, where the Mascenic softballers showed off their skills and the young WLC squad learned and grew.

The 18-5 Mascenic win improved the Vikings to 4-1 on the season. They’ve looked excellent so far under head coach Selena Shaw, who’d planned to step away from her assistant coach position this spring but instead found herself stepping up to run the show. The Vikings have lost one game so far, against Franklin, but in their four wins, they’ve outscored opponents 79-16. Their biggest strengths? Depth, speed and power.

“We’re a very deep team, which is weird, because we’re young,” Shaw said. “We’re super young, but we’re also deep. We have two solid players at each position, which is unique to have in [Division] IV. Top to bottom of our lineup, we’re strong. Anybody can hit and anybody can hit the ball deep. We have some significant power hitters. We haven’t really showed it off in a game so far. I’m hoping for that soon.”

Mascenic beat WLC 28-2 in their first matchup of the season, so Friday’s game seemed a safe opportunity for Shaw to start her second string, giving them a chance to play in a 0-0 game before bringing in her usual starters to close it out and work on their clutch performance.

“Things happen throughout the softball season,” Shaw said. “You have injuries; you never know when someone’s going to need to play, so they need to play in high-pressure situations before you’re asking that when push comes to shove in the tournament.”

Mascenic scored eight runs in the bottom of the first inning on a couple bases-loaded walks and two big two-RBI hits from Jordin Schuler and Fiona Alix. A five-run fifth put the Vikings ahead by 12 and gave them the run-rule victory.

The Vikings’ two senior captains provide a steadying influence with just the right amount of upbeat energy to keep the team loose. Speedster Ella Keating (two walks, two runs, one RBI) leads off and plays outfield, while Val Stenerson (2-2, three RBI), whose high school career has been plagued by injury, is gritting it out and contributing mightily.

“She’s come back from two major, major injuries,” Shaw said. “She’s one of the strongest players out there, mentally too. She’s all in and she’s hardcore and she’s a gamer.”

Several Vikings second-stringers proved their worth on Friday, including first baseman Lyla Somero (one run), second baseman Maya Oliveira (one run) and pitcher Olivia O’Conner, who started on the mound and threw two innings, allowing zero earned runs and striking out two. Mia Glavey came in in relief for her pitching debut; she struck out two before giving way to usual starter Hannah Cargill for the closeout.

Left fielder Kiahna Farrey (1-1, three walks, four runs, one RBI, two steals) first baseman Payton Lafreniere (1-1, one RBI, two) and second baseman Brielle Krook (1-1, three runs) also had good days at the plate.

Mascenic’s off to a great start, but Shaw can already see one area to improve – baserunning.

“We are very fast and we are not taking advantage of that, with some mental mistakes on the base path,” Shaw said.

The Vikings (4-1) were set to host Newmarket Monday after press time and then travel to Portsmouth Christian on Wednesday.

The Warriors, on the other hand, have a long way to go, but game-to-game improvement is evident. Friday’s game was the first in which WLC surrendered fewer than 20 runs and their first scoring more than three of their own.

“When it comes down to it, we’re very, very young,” said head coach Tom Crowley. “We have only 11 kids, five freshmen and three sophomores, and two of those eight they haven’t played before. So ultimately they’re going to be put in a position throughout the season to play innings and get at-bats. What we have to remember is it’s a process. It’s a season. These first five games have been tough, but between game one and now, even though it’s been a week-and-a-half, you can see the improvement already.”

The Warriors came into the season shorthanded, as senior captain Kelsey Crouse is sidelined with a shoulder injury sustained during basketball season; nonetheless, she’s providing vocal leadership in the dugout. WLC has some on-field leaders, too, in senior outfielder Madison Clough and junior catcher Haidyn Paquette, who’s about as good of a backstop as can be found in D-IV.

While they’re off to an 0-5 start, they’re putting up a fight, and they were much better against Mascenic the second time than the first. The Warriors scored first in the first on a Paquette single and a Clough ground ball. They’d chip away at the Mascenic lead with some good baserunning and a late RBI single from McKenna Crouse. WLC also got solid offensive production from starting pitcher Delaney Dowling (1-2, one rum), Leah Crawley (1-3, one run) and Izzy Swett (one RBI). Swett also came in to close out the game on the mound.

As the younger Warriors get up to speed, things should improve.

“It’s for sure a tough mental battle to overcome the struggles at first,” Crowley said. “Those freshmen had a good year in middle school last year. To turn around and see the varsity pitching, it’s a little bit quicker, believe it or not. So they have to adjust. They have to give themselves time to adjust and just build game by game and continue to build. Because really, it’s a strong core we have coming up.”

WLC hosts Hinsdale Tuesday afternoon.